Maine Republicans want federal relief funds used for tax cuts
(The Center Square) – Maine Republicans are calling for a seat at the table as state leaders decide how to divvy up a windfall of federal pandemic funds.
On Monday, House and Senate Republican leaders gathered outside the Maine State House and renewed calls to Gov. Janet Mills and the Democrats in the Legislature to consider GOP priorities as they hash out plans to spend $1.1 billion federal relief funds headed to the state.
The GOP’s agenda includes a proposal to provide a $10,200 income tax exemption for people who didn’t collect unemployment during the pandemic; raise the state’s homestead exemption reimbursement to municipalities from 70% to 100% and increase state revenue sharing with local governments from 3.75% to 5%.
“We believe one time monies should help all Maine citizens recover from the pandemic and address chronically underfunded needs,” House Republican Leader Kathleen Dillingham, R-Oxford, told reporters. “All Mainers should have a seat at the table, especially when we have a one-time opportunity to distribute emergency related funds.”
Dillingham pointed out that the state’s nonpartisan Revenue Forecasting Commission is projecting an additional $940 million in revenues over the next three years.
Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, said GOP lawmakers have been locked out of the process of deciding how the federal relief dollars will be spent.
“We should all be making these decisions together, not just the majority party, or one person in the governor’s office,” he said.
Republican lawmakers have been feuding with Mills and Democratic leaders since March when they pushed through a two-year, $8.4 billion budget without a single GOP vote.
Democrats employed a seldom used legislative maneuver to approve the biennial budget with a simple majority vote, bypassing the normally required two-thirds vote to pass it.
Maine expects to get more than $1.1 billion in federal funds from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a pandemic relief package signed by President Joe Biden in March.
Mills outlined plans to spend the money in her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, which was submitted to the Legislature last week, which includes about $50 million for fixing roads, bridges and transportation systems. She’s also proposed borrowing $140 million and leveraging that with federal relief dollars to meet transportation and other needs.
Even if Democrats take up the Republican proposals, it’s not clear they would be allowed by the federal government.
A provision in the relief bill prohibits states from using federal aid “to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction” in net tax revenue. The restriction could apply through 2024.
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